Another Morgan Stanley Manager Abruptly Leaves in Southeast

A Morgan Stanley complex manager in Alabama abruptly stepped down this week without explanation.

Michael Childs, who was promoted just over a year ago from a branch manager role in Atlanta to run Morgan Stanley’s Alabama and Florida Panhandle branches, left without explanation to his colleagues, according to two well-placed sources at the company.

A spokeswoman at Morgan Stanley confirmed Childs’ departure, but declined to elaborate. Childs’ former executive assistant declined to comment.

Childs, who began his career at Merrill Lynch in 1997, did not respond to messages sent through his LinkedIn page and his personal email.

A person answering the phones at the Birmingham office on Thursday said staff was informed of his departure on Tuesday.

The former manager, who worked at Raymond James Financial from 2000 to 2007, rose quickly at Morgan Stanley. He joined its Tallahassee office in 2007 as an advisor, was promoted to nonproducing manager of its Pinnacle office in Atlanta in 2009 and in March 2015 assumed the complex manager position, according to regulatory filings.

Ami Forte, a high-profile producer in southern Florida, was fired in April following an arbitration complaint alleging elder abuse and churning that cost Morgan Stanley $32.8 million. Forte this week admitted to having had an affair with a billionaire client but said “many people” at the firm were long aware of the relationship and did not object. Forte this week filed an arbitration claim of her own against Morgan Stanley for back-pay.